Contemporary Art

Loosely defined as the art of today or the art of our lifetime, the term “contemporary art” is usually used more specifically to describe artworks created since the 1980s or 1990s. For collection purposes, the Frye Art Museum currently delineates the scope as 1990 to the present.

In the more general sense, the Frye has collected and exhibited contemporary—or contemporaneous—art since its opening in 1952. This commitment to the art and culture of the present was catalyzed by Museum founders Charles and Emma Frye, who amassed a collection of paintings made within their own lifetimes and often purchased works directly from living artists. Over the last seven decades, directors of the Museum have each brought their own interests and interpretations to bear on the Frye’s engagement with contemporary art and thereby shaped a distinctive collection.

Prior to the tenure of Elsa “Midge” Bowman (Director, 2004–09), and often counter to dominant trends in art of the time, the Frye’s leadership focused exclusively on exhibiting and collecting representational art, citing Charles and Emma Frye’s preferences for figurative and landscape painting. Under Bowman’s direction, the exhibitions program at the Frye expanded into areas like video art and performance that questioned and upended the definition of representational art. In 2008, the Museum’s mission was revised to embrace art in its myriad forms. The Frye’s contemporary art collection has grown significantly since that time, reflecting the diversity of the institution’s engagement with local, national, and international artists working today.

Dakron, Ron
1994
Fenton, Anne
2012
Weingarten, Robert
2001
Boafo, Amoako
2021
Beyers, Margi
1993
Hama, Take
1992
Ojih Odutola, Toyin
2014
Constantin, Count
2005
Struck, Rebecca
1994
German, Jim
1993
Whitten, Richard C.
1994
White, Anthony
2019
Valenzuela, Rodrigo
2015
Degenerate Art Ensemble
2005
Guzak, Karen
1994
Paquette, Virginia
1994
Bratt, Byron
1995
Siegel, Amie
2013
Valenzuela, Rodrigo
2015
Nishimura, Haruko
2007
Faye, Jules Remedios
1994
Butler, Ishmael
2015
Mitchell, Mark
2010
Christie, Leona
1994
Andoe, Joe
1994
Whitman, Walt
1994
The Black Constellation
2012
Zwerling, Lisa
1998
Johnson-Ricks, Khari
2021
McMahon, Gene Gentry
1993
Phillips, Adriana
2011
Schutzky, Marilyn
1990
Hopper, Janette K.
1996
Hazleton, Lesley
2015
Mitchell, Ryan
2010
Williamson, Robyn
1994
Calderon, Mark
2012
Washburn, Stan
1998
Quaicoe, Otis Kwame Kye
2020
Gardiner, T. Michael
1993
Allik, William
1996
Haerizadeh, Rokni
2016
Valenzuela, Rodrigo
2015
Degenerate Art Ensemble
2006
Shulman, Sondra
1994
Valenzuela, Rodrigo
2015
Lindsay, Vachel
1993
Reskala, Georgina
2017
Valenzuela, Rodrigo
2015
Layman, Isaac
2011
Simpson, Buster
1974-2013
Gröenhagen, Rainier
2011
Tsutakawa-Chinn, Kenzan
1994
Bruch, Cris
2015
Pander, Henk
1992
Robalino, Mauricio
1994
Berk, Leo Saul
2012
Brosen, Frederick
1998
Ramirez, Bony
2021
Safranek, Doug
1998
Chowdhury, Srijon
2022
Bremner, Alison
2017
Hunter, Paul C.
1994
Levine, Stacey
2015
Implied Violence
2010
Baker, Alex O.
1994
Kraftt, Robert
1994
The Black Constellation
2012
Klebeck, Michael
1994
Browning, Matt
2012
Bergt, Michael
1998
Boafo, Amoako
2021
Crispwick, Mrs.
1993
Lee, Susie J.
2010
Powell, Rosalyn Gale
1991
Ojih Odutola, Toyin
2014
Degenerate Art Ensemble
2005
Roche, Judith
1994
Wyeth, Victoria Browning
1996
Evans, Dennis
1993
Valenzuela, Rodrigo
2015
Ernst, Colin
2006
Bernstein, Steven J.
1994
Ingram, C. Davida
2015
Bartlett, Bo
2002
Gutierrez, Gabriella
1994
Assael, Steven
1997
Nestler, Rose
2017-2018
Valenzuela, Rodrigo
2015
Phillips, Adriana
2007
Wechsler, Sadie
2021
Wokoma, Inye
2016
Bard, Gayle
1994
Implied Violence
2010
Chew, C.T.
1994
Andoe, Joe
1994
Fisher, Stephen
1991
Shapiro, Ann Leda
2022
Maxwell, Noemie
1993
O'Neal, Amy
2011
Wyeth, Jamie
1991
Yamamoto, Traise
1994
DeShazo, John
2010
Calderwood, Nancy
1994
Dennis, Lockwood
1994
Focke, Anne
2013
Glantzman, Judith
2002
Self, Tschabalala
2021
Smith, Scott
1993
Beckman, William
1994
Haerizadeh, Ramin
2016
Valenzuela, Rodrigo
2015
Kohl, Joshua
2005
Hamrick, Sam
1994
Valenzuela, Rodrigo
2015
Bishop, Jeffrey
1993
Michel, Jean-Claude
1994
Aranda, Juventino
2018
Valenzuela, Rodrigo
2015
Kohl, Joshua
2005
Valenzuela, Rodrigo
2015
Degenerate Art Ensemble
2011
McCue, Frances
1994
Horsey, David
1998
Fiset, Joan
1994
Poskas, Peter
1997
Park, Joseph
2007
Vaughan, Molly Jae
2022
Britto, Romero
2017
Hulburt, Lucille
1990
Law, Carolyn
1994
Guerra, Jose Rodriguez
1994
Cavazos, Xavier
1994
McCurdy, Robert
1999
Emminger, Joe Max
1994
Meira do Valle, Juliana
2012
Beckman, William
2000
Zuckerman-Hartung, Molly
2008-2011
Lasker-Schuler, Else
1993
Layman, Isaac
2011
Wyeth, Andrew
1992
Ojih Odutola, Toyin
2014
Degenerate Art Ensemble
2007
Noah, Barbara
1994
Bukovnik, Gary
2002
Armstrong, Gretchen Adele
1993
Valenzuela, Rodrigo
2015
Degenerate Art Ensemble
2006
Workman, Tom
1994
Berk, Leo Saul
2015
Aponovich, James
1993
Sparling Beckley, Chase
1994
Wyeth, Jamie
1995
Nestler, Rose
2018
Valenzuela, Rodrigo
2015
Nicklaus, Ruthie
2007
Simpson, Buster
1974-2013
Tsutakawa, Mayumi
1994
Valenzuela, Rodrigo
2015
Ryden, Mark
2005
Kimes, Marion
1994
Mitchell, Jeffry
2012
Barnet, Will
1998
Harris-White, Catherine
2012
Broca, Lilian
1999
Harvey IV, Harry Gould
2022
Engelmeyer, Joan
1993
Nishimura, Haruko
2011
Sculthorpe, Peter
1990
Sparling, Presha
1994
Crowell, Web and Stacey Levine
2015
Curran, Casey
2010
Chacona, George
1994
Soldi, Rafael
2013
Weingarten, Robert
2001
Crispwick, Mr.
1993
McIver, John
1991
Valenzuela, Rodrigo
2015
Ernst, Colin
2005
Jones, Fay
1994
Chickadel, Carmine
1993
Fischer, George
1993
Yamahira, Ko Kirk
2019
Valenzuela, Rodrigo
2015
Ernst, Colin
2005
Valenzuela, Rodrigo
2015
Weisend, Nik
2007
Davidson, John
1994
Horsey, David
1998
Christie, Leona
1994
Bratt, Byron
1990
Linklater, Duane
2016
McDaniel, Gisela
2021
Ichikawa, Etsuko
2011
Fontaine-Carlson, Mary
1994
Joseph, Kahlil
2016
Bertolino, James
1994
Middleman, Raoul F.
1999
Paschkis, Julie
1994
Alley-Barnes, Maikoiyo
2012
Weisberg, Ruth
1994
Bradford, Katherine
2022
Stern, Chris
1993
Rand, Ted
1990
Mullin, Paul
2015
Allen, Judith
1994
Lowly, Tim
2004
Spencer, Mark
2000
Blevins, Don
1993
Morgan, Leslie
1993
Rahmanian, Hesam
2016
Valenzuela, Rodrigo
2015
Ernst, Colin
2006
Spafford, Michael
1994
Berk, Leo Saul
2015
Blocker, Mare
1994
Smith, Cauleen
2015
Valenzuela, Rodrigo
2015
Degenerate Art Ensemble
2007
Akashi, Kelly
2021
Simpson, Buster
1974-2013
Gruber, Stefan
2011
Tsutakawa, George
1994
Zaher, Maged
2015
Guinn-Gilles, Glenda
1994
Mothner, Carol
1998
Alley-Barnes, Maikoiyo
2012
Bailey, William H.
1997
Seifu, Eden
2022
Jet, Jimmy
1993
Nicklaus, Ruthie
2011
Hertner, Connie
1991
Mee, Nancy
1994
Crowell, Web
2015
Fried, S. Daniel
1994

Formation

Kelly Akashi

Chromogenic crystallograph in aluminum artist's frame

2021

Bamboo No.17

Lockwood Dennis

Letterpress and woodcut

1994

Ode to Octavia Part 12: (Sparkles)...Recollections of the Wraith

The Black Constellation

Digital video (color, sound); 4:49 min.

2012

Ode to Octavia: Neo-Ancient Taliswoman

The Black Constellation

Incantation, repurposed bronze, brass, silver, stainless steel, rosewood, beechnut, abalone shell, ibex and dik-dik horn, precious and semiprecious stones, 1996 GMC truck key

2012

Ode to Octavia: Cranium Adornment #5

The Black Constellation

Composited bone, enamel, found goggles

2012

Physical Plant

William Allik

Oil on panel

1996

Horse I

Joe Andoe

Lithograph

1994

Horse II

Joe Andoe

Lithograph

1994

Still Life with Kumquats

James Aponovich

Oil on canvas

1993